Donna Owens, director of the Ohio Department of Commerce, will present a $10,000 grant to the Aid Township (Lawrence County) Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, June 25 at 3 p.m. at the fire department on State Route 141 in the Village of Aid. The grant is funded through the State Fire Marshal's Volunteer Fire Department Grant Program.

The grant, which will be presented to Chief Charles Bowling, will assist the department in replacing equipment damaged in the flooding earlier this year.

The grant program assists fire departments in purchasing equipment and supplies that they may otherwise not be able to afford. The grants are awarded using a grading schedule that attempts to first fund departments with the fewest resources to meet their fire protection needs and responsibilities. The criteria include: population and size of the fire district, fire department's total budget, number of fire runs, and proposed use of the grant.

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The Division of State Fire Marshal is part of the Ohio Department of Commerce. The Fire Marshal's Office trains firefighters, enforces the Ohio Fire Code, investigates the cause and origins of fires and explosions, provides fire prevention programs, and performs other services. Other Commerce divisions enforce regulations regarding industrial compliance, financial institutions, real estate, securities, auctioneers, unclaimed funds and private investigators, among others.